Myrtle Jones

Myrtle Jones (January 23, 1913 – February 15, 2005)[1] was an artist whose paintings commonly featured streetscapes and architecture of Savannah, Georgia, as well as portraits.

Jones was born in Winder, Forsyth County, Georgia[2] and moved to Savannah in 1943.[1] A professional hairdresser,[3] Jones formally took up painting in 1950 when she studied at the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences under Emil Holzhauer (among others).[4] Despite this training she has been identified as a self-taught artist,[1][3] and considered herself to be self-taught.[4] In 1964 she purchased a house on Gaston Street in Savannah's historic district and used it as her home and studio through the remainder of her career.[1]

Jones' work is considered distinct for its balance of modern and representational approaches.[4] During the 1950s and early 1960s, she utilized strong colors, brushstrokes and lines in her portraits, which Jones referred to as her "dark and bold period".[4] Her later works gravitated towards light colors to create a "faded" effect.[3] Throughout her career Jones depicted everyday life in Savannah, through subjects including urban streetscapes, buildings, landscapes, and portraits of locals. Jones was a prolific painter, possibly creating thousands of works within her lifetime.[1] She posthumously donated some of her paintings to the Telfair Museum of Art along with a one million dollar endowment.[3]

Selected exhibitions

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Stoehr, John. "Artist, icon and friend to all". savannahnow.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  2. ↑ "Art in Georgia from 1895 to 1960". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hersh, Allison. "Visions of Savannah". savannahnow.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Looking Back: Art in Savannah 1900 - 1960. Savannah, GA: Telfair Museum of Art. 1996. pp. 63–64. ISBN 0933075022.
  5. ↑ "Women Artists in Savannah (exhibition)". 2015. Telfair Museums. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  6. ↑ Exposed! Telfair Women Artists & Patrons. Savannah, GA: Telfair Museum of Art. 1996.
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